Releasable boat anchor

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates a releasable boat anchor. The releasable boat anchor has an adjustable spring stopper to allow for selection of the release force needed to operate its unlock mechanism. The releasable boat anchor has notched flukes rotatably attached to an outer cylinder. The edge of an inner cylinder engages the notched flukes prior to release. The notched flukes will rotate when the inner cylinder is pulled out of its notches once the release force needed to pull on its inner cylinder is reached.

United States Patent 1 1 1111 3,747,553 Riddle, Sr. I 1 July 24, 1973 RELEASABLE BOAT ANCHOR FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS [76] Inventor: Robert K. Riddle, Sr., 1985 Ro k 79,141 9 1931 Sweden 114/208 A Dr., Fairborn, Ohio [22] Filed; Ju|y 2 1971 v Primary Examine'r-Milton Buchler Assistant Examiner-Galen L. Barefoot [2]] Appl' 164,266 Attorney-John P. Tarlano [52] US. Cl 114/208 A [57] ABSTRACT [51] II."- C] B63!) 21/44 The present invention relates a releasable boat anchor. [58] held of Search 114/208 A, 208 R, The releasable boat anchor has an adjustable Spring 1 14/206 206 210; 294/66 R stopper to allow for selection of the release force needed to operate its unlock mechanism. The releas- [56] References cued able boat anchor has notched flukes rotatably attached UNITED STATES PATENTS to an outer cylinder. The edge of an inner cylinder en- 2,687,107 8/1954 Evans 114/208 A gag the n t h d flukes prior to release. The notched 2,985,132 5/1961 Detrick.... 114/208 A flukes will rotate when the inner cylinder is pulled out 2,540,367 2/l95l ug /2 A of its notches once the release force needed to pull on Long A its inner cylinder is reached 3,106,180 10/1963 Rice 114/210 2,990,800 7/1961 Chard 114/208 A 2 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures fa 70/ 3O 54, 2 ,247 ,I/)/: }1 I H l iii/L52 1: iii; 1 ll l 1 1' II I I: :1 l. :i I' l i 151751. 21 1! 1 ii Z 53 29 I 1J: 11 11 221 5 W7 I r 5 1 32 50 l J /O 0 e2 3 f/ 60 SQ Q} i 20 PATENTED JUL 24 I973 SHEEI 1 BF 2 fz: M! INVENTOR ROBERT K. RIDDLE SR.

FIGJ

HIS ATTORNEY PATENTED 3. 747. 553

INVENTOR ROBERT K. RIDDLE SR.

BY WWW HIS ATTORNEY BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION J. E. Botine in U. S. Pat. No. 3,138,434 discloses a releasable boat anchor. The boat anchor has a release spring and has an inner and outer cylinder. However, the release force needed to pull up the inner cylinder is not adjustable. The flukes and the outer cylinder of Botine are not notched. The side of the inner cylinder keeps the flukes of Botine from rotating. The inner cylinder can push on the flukes after release to relock the boat anchor of Botine.

The releasable boat anchor of the present invention has an inner cylinder whose one edge interlocks with notches of notched flukes. The notches of the notched flukes allow irreverseable unlocking of the inner cylinder until the flukes are again manually locked. The applied release force needed to disengage the inner cylinger from the flukes is adjusted to raising or lowering a spring stopper. A greater or lesser spring force on inner cylinder pushes the inner cylinder into the notches of the notched flukes to a greater or lesser degree. Thus a variable release force is needed to pull the inner cylinder out of the notches of the notched flukes.

In the releasable boat anchor of Botine, the release force to pull his inner cylinder away from his flukes is not adjustable. Botine can not vary the release force as is true of the releasable boatanchor of the present invention. In the boat anchor of Botine, the inner cylinder must be held to keep his boat anchor fromrelocking and must be pulled out a great distance. The inner cylinder of the releasable boat anchor of the present invention must only be raised a small amount to cause the boat anchor to semi-permanently release.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a releasable boat anchor for allowing notched flukes therein to rotate comprising a first cylinder, notched flukes rotatably mounted on said first cylinder, and a second cylinder having an oped end, the second cylinder being slidably mounted concentric said first cylinder, the edge of the open end of the second cylinder being thin enough to pass into the notches of said notched flukes to prevent their rotation on said first cylinder until said second cylinder is moved with respect to said first cylinder.

An object of the present invention isto provide a releasable boat anchor whose flukes are well locked.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a releasable boat anch or whose release force is adjustable.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a releasable boat anchor which may be released by application of an anchor force applied from any direction relative thereto.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the releasable boat anchor of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the releasable boat anchor of FIG. 1 showing the interlocking of the notched flukes by the inner cylinder.

FIG. 3 is a side perspective view of the releasable boat anchor of FIG. 1 wherein the notched flukes are in a released position.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the notched flukes connected together by a connector.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the releasable boat anchor of FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a connector connecting the notched flukes together.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of another form of the releasable boat anchor of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT FIG. 1 shows a releasable boat anchor 10. Notched flukes 12 thereon each has an arm 14 and a notched disk 16 with a notch 18 therein. The notches 18 are caught by an edge 25 of an inner cylinder 20 to prevent each notched flukes 12 from rotating around pin 22. Each pin 22 is connected into a connector 24. Connector 24 is connected to an outer cylinder 26 by means of screws 27 as shown in FIG. 2. A release spring 32 is compressed between the top surface 46 of the inner cylinder 20 and a spring stopper 44. By pulling on a cable 30 connected to the top surface 46 of the inner cylinder 20, the inner cylinder 20 is pulled out of the notches 18 to allow the notched flukes 12 to rotate downward. The outside surface 34 of the inner cylinder 20 slides along the inside surface 36 of the outer cylinder 26. The inner cylinder 20 may slide within the outer cylinder 26. Movement of the inner cylinder20 upward is caused by a cable force f on a cable 30equal to a release force f to compress spring 32 a distance d to cause the release of the notched flukes 12.

The release force f for the releasable boatanchor 10 of FIG. 1 is adjustable by clockwise rotating ring 40 and attached hollow screw 42. Spring stopper 44 is pushed downward by hollow screw 42 against'the top of the release spring 32 to further compress the release spring 32 against the top surface 46 of the inner cylinder 20. The top surface 46 of the inner cylinder 20 compresses the release spring 32 within the chamber 50. Chamber 50 is formed by the top surface 46 of the inner cylinder 20, a threaded screw guide 53 and the inside surface 36 of the outer cylinder 26. The threaded screw guide 53 is held to the outer cylinder 24 by screws29. The threaded screw guide 53 holds the hollow screw 42 in a verticalposition inside the outer cylinder 26 and allows the expansion or compression of the release spring 32 by raising or lowering the hollowscrew 42 which it holds.

The releasable boat anchor or FIG. 1 therefore has a selectable release force f,. A cable force f equal to the release force f must be applied to the cable 30 in order to raise the inner cylinder 20 a distance d to allow the notched flukes 12 to be free to rotate around the pins 22. That is, the cable force f must be equal to a preset release forcef to allow the edge of the inner cylinder 20 to disengage from the notches 18 of the notched disk 16 of the notched flukes 12. y

The releasable boat anchor 10 of FIG. I has a cable guide 52 which is located rotatably upon the ring 40. When the cable 30 is pulled from a given direction, cable guide 52 will rotate on ring 40to allow the cable 30 to pass between rollers 54 and 56 which guide the cable 30 upward through the cable guide 52. Thus one can pull up the top surface 46 of the inner cylinder 20 from any direction. The cable 30 is attached just below the top surface 46 of the inner cylinder 20 by means of a nipple 60. The nipple 60 is larger than a hole 62 which passes through the top surface 46 of the inner cylinder 20. By pulling on the cable 30 the inner cylinder 20 moves upward within the outer cylinder 26.

The notched flukes 12 will have an anchor force f pulling on them when the anchor 10 is anchored. When the force f is equal to the cable force f,, the release spring 32 will be compressed the length of the notches 18. The cable forcef on the cable 30 must be euqal to the release force f in order for the releasable anchor 10 to release. Release force f must be less than the anchor force f2. or the releasable boat anchor 10 can be pulled out of the water without releasing. Therefore it is only when the cable force f;, can not be made greater than anchor force f but can be made equal to the release force f that it is necessary for the releasable boat anchor 10 to release. The release force f equals K(Lo Le) Kd; where K is the spring constant of relase spring 32, L is the natural length of the release spring 32 and Le is the compressed length of the release spring 32 in the chamber 50.

A cable catch 70 prevents the cable 30 from falling into the cable guide 52 prior to the anchoring of the releasable boat anchor in the water. Releasable boat anchor 10 will hold a 12 foot pleasure craft without unwanted release. Releasing is accomplished by giving a quick pull on cable 30.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the releasable boat anchor 10 of FIG. 1. The notched flukes 12 have notches 18 formed in their notched disks 16. The inner cylinder 20 is positioned within the notches 18. The outer cylinder 26 holds the notched flukes by means of connector 24, which connector 24 holds pins 22 also connected to the notched flukes l2. Screws 27 connect the connector 24 to the outer cylinder 26.

FIG. 3 shows the releasable boat anchor 10 after its notched flukes 12 have become rotatable. The notched flukes 12 have rotated downward around the pins 22. The notches 18 are shown as disengaged from the inner edge 25 of the cylinder 20, to allow rotation of the notched disks 16 of the notched flukes 12. The arms 14 are pointing downward to allow the releasable boat anchor to be pulled out from rocks. The release spring 32 is further compressed a distance d to allow rotation of the notched flukes 12 around the pins 22 by the disengagement of the edge 25 of the inner cylinder 20 from the notches 18. The release spring 32 is further compressed a distance d between the top surface 46 of the inner cylinder 20 and the adjustable spring stopper 44 by applying a release force f The force on the release spring 32 needed to allow rotation of the notched flukes 12 around the pins 22 is the release forcef The release force f may be applied by quickly pulling on the cable to allow further compression of the spring 32 a distance d,. In order to allow this disengagement, the cable 30 is quickly pulled a distance d. The force f, equals K(L0 Le) Kd. The cable 30 passes through the cable guide 52 to allow the releasable boat anchor 10 to be placed in the released condition shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 shows the connector 24 which holds the notched flukes 12 by means of pins 22. The connector 24 has notches therein to allow rotation of the notched flukes 12 within the connector 24 around the pins 22. Connector 24 also has screw holes therein to allow the screws 27 of FIG. 2 to hold the connector 24 within the outer cylinder 26 of FIG. 1. The connector 24 and notched flukes 12 fit inside the bottom portion of the outer cylinder 26. The bottom portion of the outer cylinder 26 has notches therein to allow rotation of the notched flukes therethrough as shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 shows the threaded screw guide 53 attached to the top edge of the outer cylinder 26. FIG. 5 also shows the cable 30 passing through the hollow screw 42. The threaded screw guide 53 is attached to the top edge of the outer cylinder 26 by means of screws 29.

FIG. 6 is a bottom view of the connector 24 of FIG. 3. The notched flukes 12 are shown in a collapsed position within the connector 24. The pins 22 are shown in the connector 24 holding the notched flukes 12 therein.

FIG. 7 shows a variation of the releasable boat anchor 10 with notched flukes 112 attached to the inner cylinder rather than the outer cylinder 126. The outer cylinder 126 is slidable connected into the notches 118 of the notched flukes 112. The release spring 132 is stretched rather than compressed between the lower end of the screw 112 and the top surface 146 of the inner cylinder 120. The screw 142 is attached to the threaded screw guide 153. The edge of the outer cylinder 126 is pulled out of the notches 118 by the cable 130 to allow the notched flukes 112 to rotate. The boat anchor 10 of FIG. 7 has a reverse design from the boat anchor 10 of FIG. 1. All components are the same except the release spring 130 is attached to the end of the screw 130 and no spring stopper is used.

The releasable boat anchor 10 of FIG. 1 is in its unreleased state in FIG. 1. In the unreleased state the releasable anchor 10 may be used to secure a boat tied to the end of the cable 30. The cable 30 has a force applied thereto as the anchored boat attempts to drift away from the anchored releasable boat anchor 10. A steady force on cord 72 due to the drifting boat is made insufficient to release the releasable boat anchor, by screwing down the hollow screw to make the release spring 32 sufficiently compressed. The releasable boat anchor 10 will then stay in the unreleased state. The notched flukes 12 are usually caught on a rock or root so as to anchor the boat in the water.

The release forcef is equal to K(L0 Le) Kd. The amount of compression (L0 Le) is the difference between the natural length of the release spring 32 and the length of the release spring 32 prior to pulling on the cable 30. As (Lo Le) gets bigger due to the screwing downward of the hollow screw 42, the release force f, becomes larger.

When one desires to move the boat, one must unanchor the releasable boat anchor 10. Should the notched flukes 12 of the anchor 10 be caught on a rock or root, the anchor 10 must be released. The release is accomplished by first pulling on the cable 30 to move the anchored boat closer to the releasable boat anchor 10. With the cable 30 loose, one gives a quick pull on the cable 30. A sufficient forcef greater than f can be exerted on release spring 32, if the release spring 32 is not too greatly compressed. For example, iff is 50 lbs., the necessary amount of force that must be applied to cable 30 to release the releasable boat anchor 10 is 50 lbs. The notched flukes 12 which may be anchored to a rock or root apply a force f on the edge 25 of the inner cylinder 20 to keep it from disengaging the notches 18 in the notched disks 16. Therefore it is best to snap the cable 30 to open the releasable boat anchor 10. The amount of snapping of the cable 30 to cause an opening of the releasable boat anchor 10 is adjustable by moving the spring stopper 44 up or down by turning the hollow screw 42. The snapping action required to open the releasable boat anchor has a beneficial effect during the normal use of the releasable boat anchor 10. Since a boat will pull with a small steady force rather than a large quick force, the releasable boat anchor 10 will not usually open even during fast winds. The releasable boat anchor lltl of FIG. 1 will not open in a 20 knot wind if its release force f is lbs.

The releasable boat anchor 10 can be made very large to anchor a ship or smaller to anchor a small boat. The parts of the releasable boat anchor 10 may be proportioned according to the size of the craft to be anchored. For a large ship, the release spring 32 should be very strong.

It should be noted that the cable guide 52 is not absolutely necessary. The ring 40 may be smooth at its inner edge. The cable 30 would then slide over the inner edge of the ring 40 without being cut.

it should be noted that as the release spring 32 is more and more compressed by the spring stopper 44, that the releasable boat anchor 10 requires a greater cable force f;, to open. This is due to the fact that the release force f equals K(Lo Le) Kd. K(L0 Le) is the spring force f, on the compressed release spring, which spring force must be overcome to begin to pull the inner cylinder out of the notches 18. Kd is the notch force f required to pull the inner cylinder 20 completely out of the notches 18 once the inner cylinder 20 begins to move by putting a force K(L0 Le) thereon. L0 is the initial length of the release spring 32 and Le is the length of the compressed spring prior to pulling on cable 30. K is the spring constant of the spring 32. It is seen that the release force f is directly proportional to the difference (L0 Le) of the initial length L0 and the compressed length Le of the release spring 32. The cable force f must be equal to the force f Thus as (L0 Le) gets larger, by further compressing the release spring 32, f gets larger. f has a linear relationship with (La Le).

For the releasable boat anchor 10 of the preferred embodiment, the natural length L0 of the release spring 32 is 2 inches. The spring constant K is 104 pounds per inch. The outer diameter of the release spring is 1% inches. The diameter of the spring wire of the release spring 32 is inch. The length of the outer cylinder 26 is 7 inches. The length of the inner cylinder 20 is 3 inches. The inner diameter of the outer cylinder 26 is 2% inches. The outer diameter of the outer cylinder is 2% inches. The length of the notched flukes 12 is 5 inches. The diameter of the notched discs 16 is 1% inchespThe length d of the notches 18 is A inch. The diameter of the threaded screw guide 53 is 2% inches.

The release force f per turn of the hollow screw 42 is given below. The hollow screw has 16 threads per inch. For 0 turns f, equals 26 pounds and also equals Kd. That is, there is no compression on release spring 32 in pushing in inner cylinder 20in the notches l8 and Le equals Lo. For eight turns f equals78 pounds and equals K(L0 Le d), where Le equals 1% inches. For 12 turns the release spring 32 is almost completely compressed. Le equals 1% inch and f1, the release force, is 104 pounds.

I claim:

1. A releasable boat anchor for allowing motched flukes therein to rotate, comprising:

a. An outer cylinder b. A connector held within an end of the outer cylinder;

c. Notched flukes rotatable mounted on said connector;

d. An inner cylinder having an open end, the inner cylinder being slidable mounted inside said outer cylinder, the edge of the open end of the inner cylinder being thinner than the width of the notches in said notched flukes in order to pass into the notches of said notched flukes to prevent their rotation on said outer cylinder; and

e. spring means in contact with the inner cylinder for holding said edge of said inner cylinder in the notches of said notched flukes.

2. A releasable boat anchor for allowing notched flukes therein to rotate, comprising:

a. An outer cylinder;

b. Notched flukes having notched discs and outwardly extending arms from said notched discs, the notched discs being rotatably mounted on said outer cylinder;

c. An inner cylinder slidably located within said outer cylinder, the edge of an open end of said inner cylinder slidably held into the notches of said notched discs of said notched flukes to prevent the rotation of said notched flukes, and the inner end of said inner cylinder being closed;

d. A release spring whose first end is in contact with the closed end of said inner cylinder;

e. A spring stopper in contact with the other end of said release spring for compressing said release spring against the closed end of said inner cylinder;

f. A threaded screw guide connected to the outer cylinder above said spring stopper;

g. A hollow screw within said threaded screw guide, one end thereof being connected to said spring stopper to selectively compress said release spring against the closed end of said inner cylinder; and

h. A cable passing through said hollow screw, one end of said cable being connected to the closed end of said inner cylinder to allow for the compression of said release spring to disengage said edge of said inner cylinder from the notches of said notched discs to then allow said notched flukes to rotate on said outer cylinder. 

1. A releasable boat anchor for allowing motched flukes therein to rotate, comprising: a. An outer cylinder b. A connector held within an end of the outer cylinder; c. Notched flukes rotatable mounted on said connector; d. An inner cylinder having an open end, the inner cylinder being slidable mounted inside said outer cylinder, the edge of the open end of the inner cylinder being thinner than the width of the notches in said notched flukes in order to pass into the notches of said notched flukes to prevent their rotation on said outer cylinder; and e. spring means in contact with the inner cylinder for holding said edge of said inner cylinder in the notches of said notched flukes.
 2. A releasable boat anchor for allowing notched flukes therein to rotate, comprising: a. An outer cylinder; b. Notched flukes having notched discs and outwardly exTending arms from said notched discs, the notched discs being rotatably mounted on said outer cylinder; c. An inner cylinder slidably located within said outer cylinder, the edge of an open end of said inner cylinder slidably held into the notches of said notched discs of said notched flukes to prevent the rotation of said notched flukes, and the inner end of said inner cylinder being closed; d. A release spring whose first end is in contact with the closed end of said inner cylinder; e. A spring stopper in contact with the other end of said release spring for compressing said release spring against the closed end of said inner cylinder; f. A threaded screw guide connected to the outer cylinder above said spring stopper; g. A hollow screw within said threaded screw guide, one end thereof being connected to said spring stopper to selectively compress said release spring against the closed end of said inner cylinder; and h. A cable passing through said hollow screw, one end of said cable being connected to the closed end of said inner cylinder to allow for the compression of said release spring to disengage said edge of said inner cylinder from the notches of said notched discs to then allow said notched flukes to rotate on said outer cylinder. 